Green Supply Chain Management in Indian Electronics Industry

IJESM Volume 2, Issue 4 ISSN: 2320-0294
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International Journal of Engineering, Science and Mathematics
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2013
Green supply chain management in Indian
Electronics & Telecommunication Industry
Parul Goyal
Abstract:
The study investigates the Green Supply Chain Management practices adopted by the Electronics
& Telecommunication Industry in India. Study focuses on the impact of environmental
collaboration in the supply chain on manufacturing and environmental performance. This paper
used inductive and qualitative approaches to explore the salient factors that simultaneously
enhance the “greening the supply chain” as well as maximizing the customer reach while
maintaining the efficiency of the supply chain system of Electronics & Telecommunication
Industry. A survey was conducted with key informants across many divisions of the Electronics
& Telecommunication Industry to investigate how well these environmental and customer reach
in the supply chain are in synchronized with the top management’s commitment towards
environmental responsiveness and maximizing customer orientation. The responses to the survey
were statistically analyzed and a relationship model was constructed with Market orientation as
the dependent variable and independent variables as: environmental policies, supplier policies,
commitment to human capital and diversity, sustainability and market orientation. The paper
proposes to measure the performance of the corporation with respect to greening the supply
chain, maximizing the reach of consumers and operational efficiency with a view of re-
engineering the existing supply chain. The key indicators identified were environmental policies,
supplier policies, sustainability, market orientation and commitment to human capital and
diversity. The questionnaires have been developed by submitting the statements to respondents
and discussing with experts, who were believed to have knowledge of the subject for fair
judgment. The target respondents of our survey were requested to indicate, using a five-point

Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Dev Bhoomi Institute of
Technology, Dehradun

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2013
Likert scale, the extent to which they perceived their companies implementing each of the
dimensions of Green Supply Chain Management practices. The data was analyzed using mean
score. These dimensions are represented in the form of questionnaire, for measuring the different
facets of Green Supply Chain Management practices implementation, enabling industries to
evaluate their strength and weakness in the course of implementing these practices. The approach
used in the study includes an in depth interviews and questionnaire surveys. The electronics and
telecommunication products industry in India were sampled for empirical study. Results indicate
that performance of eco procurement, eco logistics design, eco product design & eco
manufacturing practices in response to the current wave of green issues and also environmental
performances of the electronics and telecommunication industry.
Keywords: Business processes, Capacity, DRP, JIT, MRP, Organizational Structure, Product,
Price, Quality, Supply Chain Management, VMI
1. Introduction
Green supply chain management leverages the role of the environment in value creation. It
facilitates offering maximum value to all stakeholders like employee satisfaction, environmental
sustainability, better quality of life to community and consumers together apart from ensuring
tangible and intangible benefits to the firm. India has gained its position among the top ten
countries and has become one of the largest manufacturing economies of the world. Chetan
Kumar M. Sedani, Ramesh R. Lakhe (2011) et al. [1]. The pressure and drive accompanying
globalization has prompted industries to improve their environmental performance. Zhu and
Sarkis (2006) et al. [8]. The supply chain is an integrated manufacturing process wherein raw
materials are converted into final and finished products, then delivered to consumers or end user.
An increasing number of supply chains invest in recycling systems intended to retrieve waste or
used product from consumers. Green supply chain management combines green procurement,
green manufacturing/materials management, eco accounting, green distribution/marketing and
reverse logistics. There are two basic processes in the supply chain: (1) production planning and
inventory control, and (2) distribution and logistics. Seok Jin Lim, Suk Jae Jeong, Kyung Sup
Kim, Myon Woong Park (2006) et al. [7]. Minimizing the generation of hazardous waste,
recovery of valuable materials from the waste and preventing the environmental deterioration are

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some complex issues which require prime attention G. Kannan (2010) et al. [2]. Efficient Green
Supply Chain is shown in Figure 1. The main areas of focus within the green supply chain are:
 Material selection
 Sourcing policies
 Resource consumption
 Green product packaging
 Green product design
 Optimum Transportation Network
 Supply network compliance
Green Supply Chain Value
Figure 1 Efficient Green Supply Chain
2. Literature Review
Shang (2010) et al. [4] conducted a study based on six dimension of green supply chain
management i.e. eco design, green manufacturing and packaging, environmental participation,
green marketing, stock and suppliers. The results inferred that the firms which were focusing on
green marketing had been successful competitors against the rivals. A decision model to measure
environmental practice of suppliers using a multi attribute utility theory approach developed by

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Handfield (2002) et al. [3]. Quinghu Zhu (2008) et al. [5] Conceptualize Green Supply Chain
Management practices implementation as encompassing different dimensions of practices
including Green Procurement, Internal Environmental Management, Eco Design, Customer
Cooperation, and Investment Recovery. Ramudhin (2010) et al. [6] proposed a strategic planning
model and insisted that internal and external control mechanism are of great importance to
decision makers while designing sustainable supply chain network.
3. Research Methodology
The questionnaires have been developed by submitting the statements to respondents and
discussing with experts, who were believed to have knowledge of the subject for fair judgment.
The target respondents of our survey were requested to indicate, using a five-point Likert scale
(1- Below average/Completely disagree, 2-Average/ Rarely agree, 3-Good/ Partly agree, 4 –Very
good/ Rather agree, 5- Excellent/Completely agree), the extent to which they perceived their
companies implementing each of the dimensions of Green Supply Chain Management practices.
Item analysis was conducted through a mean score. These dimensions are represented in the
form of questionnaire, for measuring the different facets of Green Supply Chain Management
practices implementation, enabling industries to evaluate their strength and weakness in the
course of implementing these practices.
4. Management of Supply Chain
Success is increasingly being dictated by how well a company can control its supply base and
mitigate supply bottlenecks and liabilities. Reengineering (or re-engineering) is the radical
redesign of an organization's processes, especially its business processes. Rather than organizing
a firm into functional specialties (like production, accounting, marketing, etc.) and looking at the
tasks that each function performs, we should, according to the reengineering theory, be looking
at complete processes from materials acquisition, to production, to marketing and distribution.
The firm should be reengineered into a series of processes.
The Business processes pictured as a set of triangles as shown below in Figure 2. The model will
be used to define the supplier and process inputs, your process, and the customer and associated
outputs. The feedback loop from customers will also be used as shown

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Figure 2: The Business processes pictured as a set of triangles
Improving business processes is paramount for businesses to stay competitive in today's
marketplace. Over the last 10 to 15 years companies have been forced to improve their business
processes because we, as customers, are demanding better and better products and services And
if we do not receive what we want from one supplier, we have many others to choose from
(hence the competitive issue for businesses). Many companies began business process
improvement with a continuous improvement model. The paper will attempt to understand and
measure the current process, and make performance improvements accordingly. Figure 3 given
below illustrates the continuous process improvement basic steps.
Figure 3. Continuous process improvement
The research will begin by documenting what Companies do today, establish some way to
measure the process based on what their customers want, do the process, measure the results, and
then identify improvement opportunities based on the data collected. Then implement process
improvements, and measure the performance of the new process. This loop repeats over and over
again, and is called continuous process improvement and the proposed research will be following

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this line of action. Based on a literature review, the following are the critical factors in managing
the supply chain of company:
4.1. Greening the Supply Chain
How the companies can take a proactive posture in requiring a significant level of environmental
responsibility in core business practices of their suppliers and vendors. Greening the “Supply
Chain” refers to firms integrating environmental issues which include pre-development
activities, supplier’s business practices, product design and development Environmental
responsive companies take proactive posture in requiring a significant level of environmental
responsibility in core business practices of their suppliers and vendors. Companies are
increasingly giving attention not only to the environmental characteristics of their products, but
also to the developmental process, paying particular attention to the supply chain activities.
4.2 Maximize the reach of consumers
It is critical to work with supply chain partners to prospect and generate quality customers.
Accelerating sales cycles by innovating internet based selling and hence allowing customers to
access us 24/7 via web touch settings. It is imperative to educate customers by enabling them to
complete routine self-service tasks by themselves. It also helps to build loyalty by relying on a
variety of programs in giving our customers an outstanding use experience. A sustainable
business value can be created by offering a tiered approach with distinct marketing, sales,
training, and support services for each customer segments
4.3 Enhancing Supplier Diversity
Expanding the supplier base enables firms to include more diverse suppliers hence encouraging
competition, enhancing transparency, and lowering costs for all parties concerned. Increase
participation of local and national divisions in seeking out diverse and under-represented
categories when seeking out new sources for suppliers and services. It is critical to implement
enhanced quality training, educational, employment and networking services for the under-
represented suppliers, and a successfully implementation of a web based Business-to-Business
exchange system, mutually and simultaneously beneficial to many stakeholders.

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4.4 Maximizing Operational Efficiency
How we can maintain cost competitiveness through the restructuring of the supply chain
systems. Companies are serious about maintaining cost competitiveness or customer service
differentiation must re-examine their process, measurement, and technology approaches and seek
new areas of supplier performance improvement including:
 Inserting control points at suppliers to minimize errors.
 Resolving last-minute supply disruptions based on cross-functional business goals.
 Using predictive analytics to transform static supplier scorecards into forward-looking risk
management instruments
Organizations have multiple objectives like enhanced competitiveness, better customer
service and increased profitability etc. To seek these objectives organizations employ various
defensive as well as offensive business performance improvement approaches. Approach we
have discussed (SCM) covers all functional areas of organization. It is the network of customers,
suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors concentrating the flows of material, information, and
finance through physical and human resources. This step-by-step assessment of business
operations would certainly assist organizations to completely understand the concept of supply
chain management.
4.5 Organization
Rapid innovations in the field of information and communication technologies, and their
extensive application in the achievement of supply chain objectives and coordination,
organizational structure now goes beyond the structure in the form of virtual evolutionary trends
in supply chain organization as shown in Figure 4

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Figure 4: Evolutionary Trends in Supply Chain Organization
Independent Functional Structure is shown in Figure 5
Figure 5: Independent Functional Structure in Supply Chain Organization
Limited Internally-Integrated Functional Structure is depicted in Figure 6

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Figure 6: Limited Internally-Integrated Functional Structure
Fully Internally-Integrated Functional Structure illustrated in Figure 7 below.
Figure 7: Fully Internally-Integrated Functional Structure

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4.5.1 Externally-Integrated Process Functional Structure
The total business functions revolutionized mainly due to rapid innovations in the field of
science and technology, especially information and communication technologies; birth of new
management techniques for inventory management like, JIT, MRP, DRP, etc., and mass scale
globalization of market. Virtual supply chain is the extension of the information system beyond
the conventional dimensions of pyramidal organizational structure of planning and control. It
links the customers directly to the supplier and even supplier’s suppliers, so that the supplier can
respond on a real-time basis to the changes in the market and a vendor-managed inventory
(VMI) system can be developed.
Organizational Principles
 Unity of Command
 Span of Control
 Authority and Responsibility
 Line and Staff Relationships
 Centralization vs. Decentralization
Factors influencing Organizational Structure
 Organizational Size
 Corporate Structure
 Corporate Strategy
 The Role of Supply Chain
 Information Technology Resource
 Environmental Uncertainty
5. Conclusion
This paper used inductive and qualitative approaches to explore the salient factors that
simultaneously enhance the “greening the supply chain” as well as maximizing the customer
reach while maintaining the efficiency of the supply chain system of Electronics &
Telecommunication Industry. The key indicators identified were environmental policies, supplier

_________________________________________________________
http://www.ijmra.us
129
December
2013
policies, sustainability, market orientation and commitment to human capital and diversity. The
responses to the survey were statistically analyzed and a relationship model was constructed with
Market orientation as the dependent variable and independent variables as: environmental
policies, supplier policies, commitment to human capital and diversity, sustainability and market
orientation. The approach used in the study includes an in depth interviews and questionnaire
surveys. The electronics and telecommunication products industry in India were sampled for
empirical study. The questionnaires have been developed by submitting the statements to
respondents and discussing with experts, who were believed to have knowledge of the subject for
fair judgment. The target respondents of our survey were requested to indicate, using a five-point
Likert scale, the extent to which they perceived their companies implementing each of the
dimensions of Green Supply Chain Management practices. The data was analyzed using mean
score. These dimensions are represented in the form of questionnaire, for measuring the different
facets of Green Supply Chain Management practices implementation, enabling industries to
evaluate their strength and weakness in the course of implementing these practices. Results
indicate that performance of eco procurement, eco logistics design, eco product design & eco
manufacturing practices in response to the current wave of green issues and also environmental
performances of the electronics and telecommunication industry. The paper helps supervisors &
decision makers to improve their understanding of Green Supply Chain Management practices.

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December
2013
6. References
[1] Chetan Kumar M. Sedani, Ramesh R. Lakhe (2011) ISO certification and business
performance: empirical findings of Indian SMEs, International Journal of Business Excellence,
Vol.4, No. 6, pp715-730.
[2] G. Kannan, P. Sasikumar and K. Devika (2010) A genetic algorithm approach for solving a
closed loop supply chain model: A case of battery recycling, Applied Mathematical Modeling,
volume 34, issue 3, pp 655-670.
[3] Handfield, R., Walton, S., Sroufe, R. (2002) Applying environmental criteria to supplier
assessment: A study of the application of the analytical hierarchy process European Journal of
Operational Research 141, pp70–87
[4] Shang K.C., C.S.Lu, S.Li (2010) A taxonomy of green supply chain management capability
among electronic related manufacturing firms in Taiwan, Journal of environmental management,
91, pp1218-1226
[5] Qinghua Zhu, Joseph Sarkis, Kee-hung Lai (2008) Confirmation of a measurement model for
green supply chain management practices implementation, Int. J. Production Economics ,111, pp
261–273
[6] Ramudhin A., Chaabane, A.(2010) Carbon market sensitive sustainable supply chain network
design, International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management, 5 (1), pp
30-38
[7] Seok Jin Lim, Suk Jae Jeong, Kyung Sup Kim , Myon Woong Park (2006) Hybrid approach
to distribution planning reflecting a stochastic supply chain, Int J Adv Manuf. Technol. 28: pp
618–625
[8] Zhu, Q.; Sarkis, J. (2006) An inter-sectoral comparison of green supply chain management in
China: Drivers and practices, J. Clean. Prod., 14, pp 472-486

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